Calabarzon police cancels days-off; tightens checkpoints

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Calamba City — The Calabarzon Regional Police Office (PRO4A) has suspended the days-off of all police personnel and beefed up checkpoint operations in the region, as probes on the killings of Tanauan City (Batangas) Mayor Antonio Halili on July 2 and Trece Martires City (Cavite) Vice-Mayor Alexander Lubigan on July 7, have been intensified to arrest the perpetrators.

At the joint press conference, “Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Halili” chair Calabarzon deputy regional director for operations Senior Supt. Nolasco K. Bathan with Batangas provincial director Senior Supt. Edwin Quilates as “SITG Halili” vice chair, and Cavite provincial director Senior Supt. William Segun as “SITG Lubigan” chair, briefed media on the progress of the investigations on the killing of the two local executives, which came five days apart.

Bathan said Calabarzon Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Edward Carranza, who formed the two investigation task forces, has canceled all police applications for their days-off and ordered policemen to intensify checkpoints in strategic areas in the Calabarzon provinces in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.

Carranza was meeting with PNP Chief, Police Director General Oscar Albayalde, as Monday’s press conference in this camp was in progress.

“Tuloy, tuloy ang efforts natin doon sa tatlong persons of interest, dalawang sasakyan na ito na (our efforts continue in probing the three persons of interest, (and) two vehicles as) sufficient data that will warrant deeper investigation into the shooting incident on Mayor Halili,” Bathan said adding “we do not want these things to happen.”

The SITG Halili also disclosed that the Batangas police’s on-going investigation revealed that a resource person executed a sworn statement that he saw the two vehicles at the vicinity of the private cemetery on three occasions.

Bathan said that the resource person saw the two vehicles entering the Loyola Memorial Park on June 18, 25 and July 2. The dates turned out to fall on Mondays, when the usual flag-raising ceremonies are observed by government offices.

“These are the things that the SITG are looking into their continuing investigation on or before the shooting time in the vicinity during the regular flag-raising time every Monday,” he said.

He also quoted the resource person’s statement that the suspects did not alight from their vehicles and declined to comment if there were lapses in the security at the memorial park.

Per verification from the resource person at the Loyola Memorial Park, the management of the private cemetery could not ascertain the exact time of the entry of the vehicles at the park and also witnessed the vehicles exiting the garden consecutively due to their faulty CCTVs.

Meanwhile, Batangas provincial police director Quilates presented the video footages and route maps of the two vehicles involved before, during and after Halili’s assassination at the city hall grounds.

“Ang Loyola Memorial Garden ay located supposedly at the back area where the gunman took position from the city hall before the flag-raising,” he said.

Quilates said as early as 6:44 a.m. on July 2, a Toyota Innova silver gray vehicle with conduction sticker VK 7385 and another Toyota Innova metallic gold with alleged plate number AHO 3044 were seen at the vicinity of the Loyola Memorial Garden, located around 700 meters from the Tanauan City Hall.

“Kung na-measure natin yung position na (if we measured the position of) 76.8 meters of the gunman from the city hall grounds, more or less the memorial park is 700 meters proximity to the city hall,” he said.

The Batangas police director said the two vehicles were seen exiting the memorial park with the Innova silver gray starting at 7:08 a.m. and confirmed that Mayor Halili was shot around 7:58 to 7:59 a.m. based on footages from the CCTVs installed at the city hall.

The footages also showed that the Innova silver gray passed by around 8:03 a.m. while the Innova metallic gold followed at 8:04 a.m. traversing the route towards the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) tollway from the city hall in Barangay Natatas.

“We are still requesting the CCTV footages of the STAR Tollway to shed light on the vehicles’ route or exit at the main highway,” Bathan added.

He said their coordination with the police highway patrol group (HPG) continues in tracking the movement of the vehicles based on CCTV footages and unmask the identities of the suspected killers.

Upon verification from the Land Transporation Office (LTO), the VK 7385 conduction sticker was registered to a Toyota Vios by its owner in Mandaue City while the other vehicle’s conduction sticker is not registered yet.

“It (Innova metallic gold plate number) has not been issued yet, so there is no record found,” Bathan said citing the timeline from the vehicle movements as compared with the time lapsed when captured by both the CCTVs installed at the city hall and at the memorial park.

Quilates declined to comment that one of the alleged persons of interest is a retired police general, whom Halili had a rift with.

“In fairness to the person being alleged here, there was a statement in Tanauan City in particular to the person being alleged to although he was not in his residence when sought for statements,” the SITG Halili chairperson said as their coordination with the person of interest has been established by the Tanauan City police station.

“We are continuing our investigation so we could get the side of the retired official, whom police has included among their persons of interest. We still have to get his side,” he assured.

He also told media that they have not received any requests yet from mayors or local executives in the Calabarzon Region for any security assistance in view of the deaths of Halili and Lubigan.

“Yung pag declare sa mga (the declaration of) areas as possible hotspots in regard to the coming elections depends on the Comelec,” he said as police probe is still validating the political motive or angle in the investigations. (Saul Pa-a/PNA)

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